


tantalizingly close, devastating hope

by ListeningBoy



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Kidnapping, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-25 07:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22132327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ListeningBoy/pseuds/ListeningBoy
Summary: "Go home, Reed."The man in question glared at his captain. "You can't fucking do this, Jeffrey. I need to be on this case!"Nines has been missing for sixty-seven days and counting, and Gavin is starting to feel hopeless.Written for the Reed900 Winter Gift Exchange
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 3
Kudos: 125
Collections: Reed900WinterGiftExchange19





	tantalizingly close, devastating hope

"Go home, Reed."

The man in question glared at his captain. "You can't fucking do this, Jeffrey. I need to be on this case!"

"What you _need_ is rest!" Yelling wasn't the best way to deal with one's subordinates, but it seemed to be the only thing that worked with the detectives Fowler had working for him.

"I'll rest when we bring Nines home," Gavin snapped back, "until then I should be working to make that happen! If this was your husband-"

"Gavin!" The use of his first name had him shutting up quick, like when he was a child and his mother would come after him with his full name when he was in trouble, though just like then it didn't stop him from glaring in contempt. After a deep breath, Fowler conceded. "You're right. If it was my husband, I'd be down here day and night, as long as it took. I don't expect you to want to do any differently. But I would want my men to be looking out for me, too, and that's what I'm doing for you. You're not going to help Nines when you're working until you can't stand."

"But I just need a few more days, I can feel it-"

"If anything new comes up, the team will hear about it. You don't need to be in the room for that to happen, and as soon as it does you'll be called in. Until then, you're going back to your normal cases, with a week off to rest up and get back to normal."

Gavin stewed in silence for a moment. He knew he'd been on the edge of this for weeks - Fowler hadn't even wanted him on the case in the first place, but he'd argued and yelled until the man relented. With a huff he asked, "You'll call me right away? I want to know the second anything happens."

"Not a minute later," Fowler promised.

"Fucking- Fine! But I'm not taking a week. I'll be back on Monday." He didn't bother to wait for an answer, knowing Fowler would only argue the point further. The eyes of his coworkers followed him through the bullpen as he stormed from the captain's office and out the door.

-

The apartment had never been lively, but as Gavin walked through the door that day it seemed unsettlingly quiet, just like every other night for the past two months - the ones he had come home for, anyway. It wasn't unusual for him to have stayed at the station so late that night bled into morning, with only a few short hours of sleep and coffee to keep him going.

This was the first time in a while he'd been home during the day. He'd spent the last two weeks going into work even on his days off, only home long enough to pass out and shower in the morning before leaving again. Seeing it in the afternoon light only made it more obvious how empty it was.

He walked listlessly through the apartment, energy sapped between arguing with Fowler, the lack of caffeine in his system, and the situation at large, which had been draining him for weeks. He didn't even bother to take his coat off at the door, trudging through the small living room and into the bedroom. He ignored the kitchen completely, despite missing breakfast and now lunch. He didn't feel hungry.

Falling onto his back on the bed, he stared unseeing at the ceiling. Even his usual vitriol that had sparked at the notion of being removed from the case couldn't hold up against the hopelessness that had taken to consuming him in every moment he wasn't working.

With a heavy sigh he turned on his side, eyes landing on the empty space in the bed beside him. The body that usually lay there wasn't exactly warm, but it had grown colder in his absence. In a moment of weakness his hands slipped across the sheets, pulling at fabric that had been shoved under the unused pillow. The white jacket had lost some of its crisp perfection in the time it had been hidden away, out of sight but never out of reach. He couldn't bring himself to actually pack the article away. It would have felt too absolute.

His hands clenched in the fabric, and he curled in on himself, holding it to his chest. He could remember the last time he'd seen Nines in it. Most androids abandoned the clothing they wore before the revolution, hating the symbol of servitude they had become, and out of respect for them his partner had too. In public he wore mostly sweaters and professional suits when the situation called for it, but in private he still liked to wear the old jacket, finding it more comfortable than any other clothing in his wardrobe.

The last time he'd worn it was two months ago - sixty-eight days, to be exact. It had been a normal evening, where the two had retired after a particularly harsh work day to cuddle together on the couch and watch a movie while Gavin munched through a bowl of popcorn. By the end of it the jacket had been draped over their shoulders, covering them both, little protection against the slight chill that had appeared as night fell but leaving them feeling warmer in each other's presence regardless.

Sixty-seven days ago, Nines disappeared.

It had been their day off, and Gavin had spent it with Tina while Nines was out shopping. It had been a few days before Gavin's birthday, and he'd mentioned needing to buy a cake - the gift was already bought, and Gavin found it a few weeks later, hidden in the back of Nines' wardrobe in a little red box. A ring, plain silver because Gavin made it known that he would never wear flashy jewelry. As far as he was concerned they were already husbands, but there'd been talk about making it official for a few months. 

That night, sitting on the bedroom floor with the ring around his finger, had been the only time Gavin had broken into tears in the entirety of the past two months. Now, as he lay with trembling hands clutching the jacket to his chest, wet trails made their way down his cheeks once more.

-

Gavin woke at 1pm on Sunday, and he didn't remember if he’d spent the morning in a long depression sleep or only just passed out after a night of insomnia. Either way, he hadn't moved from his bed in a full 24 hours, and he was groggy and slow as he slapped randomly on his bedside table to locate his ringing cell phone. The screen displayed '2 missed calls', all made within the last few minutes. He stabbed at the bright green 'Answer' icon before the number could go up more. His voice was gravelly, sleep heavy and in need of hydration as he grumbled out, "What'd'ya want?"

"Gavin! Get your ass down to the station! We found him!"

An ever so eloquent "What?" left him, his brain only catching up and realizing what was just said after the officer on the other end of the line had started repeating himself. Interrupting mid-sentence, he blurted out, "You found Nines?! How?"

"One of our undercovers contacted us last night, said the gang she was with was keeping a police android hostage. She was almost done down there, so the Captain is moving up the raid. They're about to leave."

"Shit- tell them to wait for me! I'm going in with them!" The tiredness gone from his limbs, Gavin scrambled out of bed and frantically began pulling on yesterday's clothes.

The phone was kept pinned between his ear and shoulder as much as possible, allowing him to hear anything important, including the officer's apologies as he replied. "Sorry, no can do. They've gotta get out there right now. Fowler wants you in the station, so you can be in the loop until he's out."

"Fuck, fine. Tell him I'll be down there in ten." Gavin growled before hanging up without waiting to hear a reply, tossing the cell on the bed while he pulled on a shirt. He couldn't feel too upset that they weren't going to wait for him. It would delay their reunion by a few more hours for sure, but after weeks of thinking this day might never come he could handle waiting a little longer.

-

It was over an hour before Nines was extracted, an hour Gavin spent staring at the Captain's radio and listening intently for any news. When the officer on the other end finally started relaying that the hostage had been retrieved Gavin was out of his seat in seconds, and the other cops in the bullpen joined him in a cheer. Before the short celebration had finished he was already pushing his way past the small crowd, rushing out to his car so he could meet his partner as soon as possible.

Fowler texted him with the address of the nearest android repair center to the raid, where Nines would be brought and checked over, and he was lucky that so many of his fellow cops were occupied at the moment because otherwise he would have surely been pulled over for speeding.

The repair center had once been owned by Cyberlife, but had since become android owned and operated, and remodeled to be more similar to a human hospital. That wasn't saying much for the comfort of the place, but it was probably better than the mechanic's garage it used to resemble. What it meant for Gavin was that he was forced to sit in the waiting room while Nines was seen by the doctor, because they had adopted the policy of only letting family go in with the patient, and unfortunately as they were only boyfriends Gavin didn't count. He calmed himself with the knowledge that soon that would no longer be the case, he planned to bring up the ring he'd found as soon as Nines recovered. The thought was all that kept him from threatening the nurses when they came to him with updates and apologies that he still wasn't allowed to see Nines.

When, finally, he was approached by a woman in a doctor's lab coat, he was on his feet in seconds, ready to go before she even had the chance to speak. She explained during the walk to Nines' room that he'd been found in good condition. His body was tougher than most androids', and his captors were apparently not interested in injuring him - or if they were they hadn't gotten the chance to yet. After having a few areas of scraped plastic on his chassis replaced and getting a top up to fix his concerningly low thirium levels, he was okay to be brought home.

When they reached Nines' room the doctor told him that he could go in alone, and take as much time as they needed inside. He waited for her to leave and turn the corner before taking a deep breath to calm his pounding heart and opening the door.

The room was even less inviting than what would be in a human hospital. With androids not needing to sleep or sit if they didn't want to, the only furniture inside was a metal table that would serve as both an exam area and a resting spot for patients. Nines was sitting on it, back stiff as a board in what Gavin knew was a sign of discomfort from his partner. As the door opened he looked up, and Gavin caught sight of a frown on his face for a split second before it was replaced by a wide smile as Nines saw who it was entering his room.

"Gavin!"

The android was on his feet in an instant, and Gavin was just as excited to see him, pushing the door shut behind him as he launched himself forward to wrap Nines in a hug. He buried his face in Nines' chest, eyes clenched shut to stop the tears that wanted to spill down his cheeks. "God, I fucking missed you, Nines."

Nines' arms enveloped him as well, holding him tight enough to steal his breath. "I missed you as well, Gavin."

They held the position until Gavin needed to breathe, reluctantly pulling away from the embrace. They stared at each other for a moment, hands still lingering on each other's bodies, unwilling to lose contact.

That was, until Gavin's eyes narrowed in - mock - anger, the man pulling away to punch a balled fist into Nines' shoulder. He kept it light, knowing that Nines wouldn't feel it anyway and he would only hurt his hand there were any force behind the move. In response to the confused look his partner gave him he explained, teasingly, "That's for getting kidnapped right before my birthday, prick."

Nines relaxed, rolling his eyes, a gesture he had picked up from Gavin himself. "I most humbly apologize. Next time I will wait until you have nothing planned before I allow myself to be taken."

"You'd better. If you skip out on my Christmas gift too I'll start to think you forgot to get me anything."

"Oh no, you've caught onto my trick," Nines deadpanned, his face cracking into a smile when Gavin laughed. Then he was gasping an unnecessary breath as Gavin pulled him down with hands balled into the fabric of his shirt, bringing him into a kiss. Nines let him set the pace, enjoying his human's warmth against his lips until they were forced to break apart, before asking with a chuckle, "And what was that for?"

_"That",_ Gavin said, "was for coming back."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed ^-^
> 
> * * *
> 
> My [Tumblr](http://gavinisqueertbh.tumblr.com) and [PillowFort](https://www.pillowfort.io/ListeningBoy)


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